DuPont to Set up USD 80 Million Specialty Materials Manufacturing Facility in China

DuPont finalized a deal with Zhangjiagang government officials at Shanghai CIIE to set up a new USD 80 million materials manufacturing facility in the country.

The company will invest over USD 80 million in the facility which will be located in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu Province in East China. The new factory will specialize in the manufacture of compounded high-end engineering plastics and adhesives to cater to customers in transportation, electronics, industrial and consumer products markets. It is expected that the facility will become operational in 2020 with the capacity being ramped up right through to 2023.

A ceremony was held at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai during which the deal was signed between DuPont representatives and Zhangjiagang government officials.

The new facility will be located in Yangtze River International Chemical Industrial Park, will help DuPont to meet the growing demand for DuPont Transportation & Advanced Polymers (T&AP) business’ specialized materials. The company said that it would be investing primarily in new compounding lines that will make DuPont Zytel nylon engineering plastics; Delrin acetal resins; Hytrel thermoplastic polyesters, and Multibase thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), lubricants and specialty silicone materials.

The site plans also includes new production lines for automotive adhesives, and for lines that will make additional specialty products in the future, thus making it DuPont’s first multi-business manufacturing facility in China.

Commenting on the new plant, Randy Stone, president of DuPont Transportation and Advanced Polymers, said that the decision to invest in the new plant reinforces the company’s commitment to China and the Asian market as DuPont sees strong scope for growth across its businesses in the region. He said that the new manufacturing facility will position DuPont well to support expected growth in the automotive sector due to the high demand from customers for the company’s advanced polymers and solutions from end users like manufacturers of electric and hybrid vehicles. This investment, which is being made in cooperation with the Zhangjiagang government, will allow DuPont to focus on innovative solutions that serve high-growth end uses in a cost-effective, responsive way, and strengthen its leadership position in th0ese key areas globally.

The company’s T&AP business has significant manufacturing operations and R&D capabilities globally, in the United States and Canada, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and in Asia Pacific. The most recent investments were announced for U.S. sites earlier in 2018.